Fading Sakura Leaves
by Crimson-Eyed-Angel99
Summary: Completed - A musing on what would happen if one of the Sohmas found Akito in need of help.
1. Fading

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket does not belong to me!  
  
Just a drabbling that I really wanted to write about Akito and what would happen if one of the Sohmas found him helpless and unable to hurt them like he does. Then my mind bounced away with the idea of KYO finding him, the one Sohma he really can't stand. Hope you like it!  
  
--Hatori's thoughts--   
  
{Akito's thoughts}   
  
/Kyo's thoughts/  
  
---{}---  
  
"Akito, you haven't eaten in two days. What are you planning?" The dragon asked his superior, peering into the darkness to see Akito's thin frame leaning back against the wall.  
  
"You're going to kill yourself if you keep this up." He said, still waiting for a reply.  
  
"And that would sadden you?" The voice, calm, but always managing to sound mocking as well, said; seeming detached from it's owner. Hatori frowned, opening his mouth as if to speak, but Akito continued before he could.  
  
"It's been three weeks since /that girl/ was here." He said almost off- handedly. He stood slowly and walked over to the open paper doorway, looking out at the evening light from the quickly setting sun. "Do you believe she made an impression on me Hatori?"  
  
The seahorse didn't reply; remaining in his seated position with both legs tucked under him. When Akito acted this way it was dangerous even to be close to him, much less to speak.  
  
"So Ha-san," Hatori almost flinched when he heard that name from Akito's lips, the smile playing in the younger man's voice. "...why do you think she came?"  
  
"She wanted to talk to you." Hatori answered, keeping his tone neutral. "She was concerned."  
  
"What right does she have to be concerned about me?" There was strain in Akito's voice, a hint of the anger he had shown when Tohru had come to the main house. "She shouldn't care, not when she has that disgusting cat and... the mouse..."  
  
--I was hoping we could avoid remembering Yuki this time. It appears I was wrong.--  
  
Hatori thought dismally then looked up as Akito shook his head, the black hair brushing against his pale face.  
  
"No," He murmured. "She wouldn't care." His eyes flashed back to Hatori, as if angry that someone had caught his dropped guard, if only for an instant. "You can go." He said, his eyes gesturing at the door. Hatori stood and headed towards it, glancing back at him.  
  
"You should eat."  
  
"I'll decide what I do." Akito snapped back, his temper already aroused by the thought of Tohru.  
  
{What WAS she doing here? I teased her about the cat's true form, I laughed at her pain, I told her she deserved all this. That little fool! Doesn't she know how to behave?! I think...} He paused, then smiled faintly.  
  
{I think, I'll visit Shigure.}  
  
He stood quietly, looking over at the door Hatori had just left through. The seahorse doesn't need to know, he'd only stop me. But this time I am going and no one's going to keep me here!  
  
---{}---  
  
Hatori heard the car pull out and dismissed it offhandedly. Haru had a habit of going out late at night, sometimes to visit Shigure's dojo, sometimes just to get away from Sohma House. He looked back down at his paperwork, only glancing up as he heard someone enter the room.  
  
"Where's Akito going?" Haru asked.  
  
"Nowhere to my knowledge." Hatori responded. "Why would he be?"  
  
"He just pulled out in the car." Haru answered, his grey eyes frowning slightly with confusion. "He didn't tell you?"  
  
Hatori was sitting bolt upright in his chair by this time.  
  
"No he didn't. Did he tell you where he was going?"  
  
"Well, I assumed he would be going to see Yuki." Haru said, shifting slightly. If Hatori didn't know what Akito was doing, could Yuki be in danger? Or Tohru? The ushi didn't know the Honda girl that well but he didn't want anything to happen to her... and almost all of the Sohmas knew that Akito harbored a special dislike for her.  
  
"I'll try there first." Hatori stood, brushing the paperwork aside. Haru looked up from his thoughts quickly. "I'm coming too." He stated bluntly, pulling on his coat.  
  
Hatori didn't protest, merely going to get the other car, Hatsuharu following him.  
  
---{}---  
  
Despite all doubts about his mental stability, Akito was an excellent driver. Not that he used this skill much since he stayed in his dark room nine days out of ten.  
  
The sky crackled ominously and Akito smirked.

{As if that could frighten me.}  
  
The black sedan (?) rushed onward over the muddy road, past the Sohma homes. Akito, confident, pressed the gas pedal a little more. It was too tempting not to, with the storm and the freedom of being out of his room. He hadn't talked to anyone besides Hatori for at least three weeks and he wanted conversation. Even though he WAS self-sufficient and didn't need anyone to talk to.  
  
Suddenly a dark form darted out in the road just as lightning flashed, making the thing's shadow giant.  
  
Even as Akito swerved to miss the animal he could tell what it was. A cat.  
  
{Why did I swerve... for a cat?!}

He wondered wildly as he fought for control of the careening car. A tree loomed ahead of it, the branches reaching out as it to bestow a fatal embrace.  
  
Akito stared at it in a kind of calm horror as the car rushed towards it and then...  
  
Impact.  
  
---{}---  
  
{I can't... I can't move.} Was Akito's first thought when he regained consciousness. His legs were pinned between the door and center of the car. Upon impact, the sedan had crumpled like a tin can. There were branches covering the windshield and Akito couldn't see a thing.  
  
{No one knows where I am.} He thought calmly.  
  
{I'm going to die here.}  
  
---{}---  
  
Kyo was bored. Bored bored bored bored.  
  
So he was sitting on the roof, looking out over the sunset. Tohru was off at a slumber party at Hana's house with Uo and her new friend Matoko. Shigure was in his room on a writing streak and yelled at everyone not to disturb him lest he lose his train of thought.  
  
... then of course the Dog kept sneaking out of his room and getting more snacks for 'inspiration'. At this rate he'd be in his room all NIGHT 'thinking'.  
  
And the kuso nezumi....  
  
...who knew and who cared? Kyo sure as heck didn't. A storm was rolling in anyway so the Cat slipped off the roof, landing lightly on the ground. His other form was stirring but he didn't want to go inside.  
  
Feeling irritable, he started off into the forest. No sense in wandering around the house doing nothing and sitting on the roof he made a little too easy a target for lightning.  
  
Kyo suddenly had a vision of himself crispy-fried, orange hair turned black with ash. He sweatdropped.  
  
"Stupid imagination..." He kicked at a rock listlessly, sending it skittering ahead on the path harmlessly into the darkness.  
  
--Until it clunked against something metal in the bushes.  
  
The cat's sensitive ears pricked up and Kyo turned to stare at the dark where the noise had come from.  
  
/Let's see./ He thought boredly. /Trees do not go clunk. The ground does not go clunk. Water does not go clunk. So what does go clunk is.../  
  
He climbed over a fallen tree that he hadn't noticed before, brushing away branches to stare at what he had just found.  
  
/...Akito's car?!/  
  
---{}---  
  
To a rather grumpy head of the Sohma family, waking up to a orange-haired catboy sitting on the windshield of your (wrecked) car is not the most pleasant thing in the world.  
  
And Akito wasn't about to make an exception of himself.  
  
"Cat. Get off. Now."  
  
Kyo stared, unmoving. "What the heck are /YOU/ doing here?"  
  
"If it is not painfully obvious cat, then I did right in giving up on your sanity a long time ago."  
  
"What'd you say?!"  
  
Akito rolled his eyes. "Never mind you stupid cat. I'm not about to repeat myself for YOU." He shifted, still feeling his legs trapped by the crumpled car. He was caught between hissing at Kyo to help him, but this would admit that he needed Kyo and he DIDN'T want that; or continuing to try and free himself. Of course this would look rather odd and Kyo sitting on the windshield would obviously notice and either try to help or watch in bemusement.  
  
...  
  
This was a problem.  
  
---{}---  
  
The cat had already noticed Akito's dilemma and was currently trying to stifle any comments rising in his throat. It didn't really bother him to see Akito in pain, what with all the pain he'd caused for the other Sohmas and the kuso nezumi.  
  
Then again, if he just left his senior here he'd probably catch it...  
  
"Need any /**help**/ Akito?" He asked, knowing full well what the word meant to Akito. The Sohma head glared at him.  
  
"/**Why**/ would I need /**any**/ help from you CAT." He hissed. Kyo smirked.  
  
"Well there's the minor detail that you're in a totaled car and can't get out and I'm the only person who knows you're here and actually might ASK that little question."  
  
"You OWE it to me cat." Akito said, his dark eyes daggers.  
  
"I don't owe you anything! This is the cat remember? Not your precious rat."  
  
"I have to die for all you idiots." The older teen spat, straining to move. "You owe me just as much as they do."  
  
"Yes, but I'm just the unfortunate addition. It's always been that way hasn't it?" Kyo asked sarcastically. Akito stopped moving, the smirk still there, as if he had the upper hand.  
  
"Yes. As it always will be cat."  
  
"Yeah, and you'll probably always be a--" Kyo's insult was interrupted as he smelled something. He frowned, sniffing the air. Akito looked at him through narrowed eyes, annoyed at being ignored.  
  
"You smell that?" Kyo asked, still sniffing. "It smells like blood..."  
  
Akito froze, feeling the betraying drip drip of blood coming from a gash in his right leg. Now he'd have to admit it... that he needed the cat to help him. It was already more then obvious with his injuries but now it was time to put an end to the cat and bird (pun intended) game they had been playing.  
  
{I don't want to!} He pleaded in his mind. {It's the CAT. He'll never respect me again! I can't show weakness, not to him!}  
  
Kyo was already looking at him suspiciously and Akito met his eyes squarely.  
  
{Show no weakness other then what I need to.}  
  
"Cat, I need..." Akito took a small breath, forcing himself to do this.  
  
"I need your help."  
  
Kyo looked at him in silence for a moment, his red cat eyes understanding every word and the weakness it implied. Akito had never done this before; it was obvious by his tone.  
  
/So how would he react if I refused?/ Kyo wondered, already knowing that he wouldn't but wondering what would happen if he did. (That is, besides Tohru biting his head off of course.)  
  
He nodded, sliding gracefully off the hood of the car. He took a hold of the driver's door, straining to pull it off. It had crumpled inward when the car crashed. With slight difficulty Kyo tore it off, tossing it away then he heard Akito's hiss of pain. He dismissed it, stretching.  
  
"There sickly bird, I've let you out of your cage. Be happy."  
  
When Akito didn't move, Kyo stuck his head in the car and then moaned.  
  
The older teen had passed out again.  
  
"WHY?! WHY ME? Why do -I- of all people hafta get stuck caring for HIM!?" Kyo yelled, already knowing that his next step had just been planned out. He had to take Akito back to Shigure's.  
  
Wasn't this going to make Yuki happy....  
  
---{}---  
  
I don't know if I'll continue... hmmm.... btw, it's not a Kyo/Akito pairing. No da. Please review!!!!!!!!


	2. Storm

---{}---  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket! If I did, I wouldn't have given it that cliffie ending!  
  
Is Kyo ooc? He kinda seems like it to me in this chapter... oh well... thank you's go out to all my reviewers! You guys rock!  
  
---{}---  
  
"High school girls, high school--ummm... Kyo? What are you doing?"  
  
Shigure stopped short in the middle of his perverted little song, staring at a drenched Kyo and his equally soaked bundle. Kyo rolled his eyes.  
  
"What does it look like, I'm starting a bake sale?! I'm taking Akito, who had a car accident, to the bathroom, so I can bandage him then ask Hatori to get his dragon butt over here and take him back to the Main House!"  
  
"Hold on..." The Dog said, running after Kyo. "Go back to the bake sale part!"  
  
Kyo sent him a withering glare. "You just don't get it do you."  
  
Shigure nodded, calming down somewhat as he followed Kyo into the bathroom, getting the bandages out of the cupboard slowly as he wondered what the two had said to make Kyo so irritated. Eh, it was probably just Kyo being normal...  
  
"Look Dog, I know you're having a ball over there but blood's getting all over the floor. Want to hurry it up?" Kyo commented in annoyance. Shigure tossed him the bandages, kneeling to support the unconscious Akito while Kyo bandaged him.  
  
"He doesn't deserve this you know."  
  
"Doesn't deserve what?" Kyo asked sarcastically. "A car wreck? With all the pain he's caused the Sohmas?! You're going nuts Dog."  
  
"I meant that he doesn't deserve to be the sacrifice. You know he wasn't always like this Kyo." Shigure answered, for once showing his serious side.  
  
"He went a little mad when he was told he'd have to die."  
  
"And what. You expect me to pity him?"  
  
"No. That's the problem." Shigure answered. "Everyone wants to pity him because he has to die. He has respect and everyone fears him but he doesn't want that. He wants to be normal."  
  
Kyo snorted, and if he really had cat ears they would have been pinned back against his head. "Huh. Good luck with that. NONE of the Sohmas are normal, and if any were, he'd be the closest!"  
  
"And how do you know that?" Shigure asked softly. "Akito's got the hardest burden to bear of all of the Sohmas. Dying involuntarily for them."  
  
"Yeah, but does he have to be such an idiot?" Kyo retorted, annoyed. At that moment the Sohma head stirred. Kyo glared as Akito's eyes opened.  
  
"Ya know, you COULD have saved me the trouble of carrying you here." He muttered.  
  
"Where am I?" Akito asked, not allowing a hint of nervousness to taint his tone. Then again, that was just like him.  
  
"Shigure's house baka." Kyo answered.  
  
Akito turned his gaze to the Dog, who grinned, back to his usual happy self. "Hello Akito."  
  
"Hn." The teen responded and sat up with difficulty. "Why am I here?"  
  
"You were in a car wreck, Kyo found you passed out and brought you here!" Akito's eyes immediately went over to the Cat and Kyo shrugged, his eyes telling nothing.  
  
It would probably help if Shigure DIDN'T know that Akito had had to ask for Kyo's help.  
  
That would just make it difficult later, when Akito actually got back to the Main House where he could (and would) cause trouble again.  
  
Shigure stood. "Well, I guess I better go call Hatori then!" He skipped off down the hall, blissful as usual. Akito raised an eyebrow.  
  
"That's not like Shigure..."  
  
"Eh, shows how much you know." Kyo answered, smirking, finishing bandaging Akito's legs. Akito drew his legs near to himself, his too-thin frame dwarfed by the kimono he wore.  
  
"Why is he calling Hatori?"  
  
"To come and pick you up." Kyo answered noncommittally. "Didn't think you were staying here, did ya?"  
  
At that moment, the power flickered and Kyo stiffened. "Wha?"  
  
While he was taking Akito inside, the storm had grown stronger. And now, apparently, a wind had sprung up and was buffeting the cables.  
  
There was a light tap on the closed bathroom door and the silver-haired rat opened it. "Ky--Akito!"  
  
The power went out.  
  
Akito smirked in the darkness. "Hello Yuki."  
  
There was only the sound of scared, soft breathing from the rat.  
  
Kyo looked back and forth between the two, his eyes having immediately adjusted to the darkness.  
  
Shigure came bouncing back at that moment. "Power's out."  
  
"Oh THANKS Shigure. We NEVER would've figured it out without you." Kyo's voice came sarcastically from the dark.  
  
"That's what I'm here for! Is Yuki home yet?"  
  
"I'm right here." Yuki's voice came softly from the closest area to the door in the bathroom.  
  
"And you're aware that Akito-san is here?"  
  
"I believe I may have noticed Shigure. I'm going to my room."  
  
"Oh, hold on mousie, we might need someone to--- he's gone isn't he." Shigure addressed Kyo. The Cat nodded.  
  
"Yup. Outta here like a mouse with a cat on his tail."  
  
"I'll go get him. Don't kill each other while I do!" Shigure said cheerfully, heading off into the dark house, calling around for the "mousie".  
  
Kyo turned his gaze to Akito in the darkness, knowing he had the advantage since the Sohma head couldn't see him.  
  
"While you're here, don't torment the nezumi."  
  
"I don't torment." Akito shot back immediately. Kyo rolled his eyes.  
  
"Really. That's why he's scared to death of you."  
  
"That is correct. I am his Master, not his friend. Though sometimes I am both."  
  
Kyo snorted, shaking his head. "You're never his friend. You're his nightmare."  
  
Mere silence from the person aside Kyo. The Cat rolled his eyes. "You going to sit in here all night or actually move out into the house sometime? Hatori can't come if we can't call him and you wrecked the car."  
  
"Can't /that girl/ drive?" Akito hissed softly. "She had her own car."  
  
"Yes, and that would be a good idea. If she were actually here." Kyo responded, standing. Akito smirked.  
  
"Abandoned the Sohma cause has she?"  
  
"No, she's at her friend's house! Geez, what'd she ever do to you to get so under YOUR skin?" Kyo couldn't think of anything that Tohru could do to really offend someone. Okay... maybe she could offend Ritsu somehow... she and the monkey could have apologizing wars... wouldn't that be interesting...  
  
While Kyo's mind ran off with this interesting little topic, Akito stood, a little shakily from the blood he had lost before Kyo found him. Of course, it didn't take much to lose in his current condition. Kyo's attention was drawn back to Akito as the older teen started, albeit slowly, out of the bathroom.  
  
"I'm waiting for the answer to my question." He asked in annoyance, glaring at Akito's back. The Sohma paused, his green/blue eyes turning to glare at the Cat.  
  
"I see no reason to give you one. I don't care for the Honda girl."  
  
"That's not the answer." Kyo answered, grabbing Akito's wrist, forcing the older Sohma to stop. "And I really don't like it when people ignore me and won't answer my questions." He hissed angrily. "Why. Do. You. Hate. Tohru?"  
  
He could feel Akito's muscles tensing under his grip, having Kyo so close was making him nervous. Then again, Akito never let anyone close to him but Hatori, or maybe Shigure. Being addressed like this by a younger Sohma...  
  
Akito tossed his hand off with a surprising strength.  
  
"Stay away from me CAT." He hissed with equal anger, hate lurking just beneath the final word. "I don't have to answer anything for you."  
  
Kyo snorted. "Yeah. You're gonna get real far refusing to answer all questions when you're not in your little, dictator-quiet palace and without Hatori around to defend you."  
  
"What do you know." Akito spat, his eyes wide. "You know nothing. You never will." He whirled and exited the bathroom. Kyo sulked for a moment, glaring after him.  
  
/He acts like he's something special... DANG I CAN'T STAND HIM! He's not IN his special little house anyway; no one's going to play to his whims here. Who does he think he is?!/  
  
---{}---  
  
"Mouuuuusiiiiiieee"  
  
Shigure called hopefully, poking his head into the Rat's room, flashlight roaming around the room's dark corners and finally settling on the lump in the bed. A smile stretched across Shigure's face and he kept the flashlight on it, waiting for the person to turn over.  
  
"Yukiiii I know you're in herrrrrre"  
  
"Go AWAY Shigure." The Rat answered and the Dog bounced in, grinning and full of (stupid) questions. "Why are you in here? There are flashlights downstairs; it's just like a party! All we need is Aya..." Shigure's expression grew blissfully thoughtful and Yuki glared at him, his amythest eyes flashing in the darkness.  
  
"Don't even THINK it Dog." He shot back and Shigure gave him a wounded expression.  
  
"Just because you don't approve of our relationship..."  
  
"You do NOT have a relationship so give it up!"  
  
"Wahhh... Yun-chan is so mean..." Shigure moped, tugging on the Rat's arm. Yuki shook his head. "Why can't I just sleep? There's no point in getting up if all the lights are out."  
  
"Yes, but do you really want to sleep in a bed with a leak over it?" Shigure asked curiously, turning the flashlight up to the roof where a fat droplet was about to fall on the bed. Yuki stared at him.  
  
"You can't have known that."  
  
He beamed, sweatdropping. "Well... really it was Aya's plan because he thought if you thought you had some kind of problem it would bring you two closer together. By morning it'll look like you wet your bed." He finished happily.  
  
Yuki groaned. "I should've known..." Reluctantly, he followed Shigure downstairs to where a couple of flashlights were settled around the table. Kyo sat there... alone.  
  
Shigure cocked an eyebrow at the Cat semi-suspiciously.  
  
"Where's Akito?"  
  
Kyo smirked. "Not here. Isn't that enough?"  
  
"Ano... I'm not sure that's a really good answer..." The Dog responded hesitantly. "Where is he?"  
  
"He's not dead if that's what you're asking."  
  
"Kyo!" Shigure barked, his tone taking on a harsher quality then it usually had. The Cat shrugged. "I don't know. He wanted to go home."  
  
"Home? Back to... Sohma House?" Shigure asked, wide-eyed. "Did he start going there?"  
  
"Maybe." Kyo responded noncommittally.  
  
"Being out in that storm could KILL him." Shigure explained emphatically. "Did he?"  
  
"Kyo..." Yuki asked softly, speaking up for the first time, surprisingly calling Kyo something OTHER then "baka neko".  
  
"Where's your bracelet?"  
  
The Cat's arm shot up and he stared at it in the bright light of the flashlights, as if staring at it's usual place could return the bracelet. He backed up unconsciously from the two Sohmas, his crimson eyes darting from his wrist to his body with fear filling them.  
  
"He... Akito took it!"  
  
---{}---  
  
Please review! Please please! 


	3. True Form

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Disclaimer: You really think I draw that well? You really really do! THESE PEOPLE ARE SOOOOO NICE! You all think I can draw a megapopular manga! That's so cool!!! ---it's not mine people. No da.

Thank you's go out to all my reviewers:

**HelloKat, Sophie-chan, Akutenshi,** **kitsunedemon, jackie, BlackSaiyan and Demeter. (I'm only replying to Demeter's and Akutenshi's because they asked questions. I appreciate all the others too!)**  
  
Demeter1: I've been trying to think of an answer to your question and I'm afraid I don't have a good one. It's either, a) Kyo didn't realize it was gone so he didn't transform or b) I have a sinister plan for why he didn't transform to cover up for my foresight. Probably b. /grins/ Thanks for your review! Good question... I probably needed to address that to avoid confusion. /sweatdrop/

Akutenshi: (luv your name btw. bounces Evil angel...) He drove in the last episode I think, when he went out to taunt Tohru about Kyo's true form. He just looked so cool in the driver's seat, driving away. Looked right for him... though he _does_ look too frail driving a car. Oh well... Thanks for your review!

---{}---  
  
The three Sohmas sat in silence for a moment, Kyo quivering occasionally with fear, waiting for his other side to emerge.  
  
Yuki broke the silence, his voice eerie in the flashlight-lit darkness. "Kyo... if you aren't wearing the bracelet and it's stormy outside, why haven't you changed into--"  
  
"I don't know!! How should I even have a clue?" Kyo yelled. "That idiot Akito took my bracelet and I don't know WHEN I'm going to change only that I will and it'll be soon! So shut up and get away from me!"  
  
Shigure's eyes darkened and he looked over at Yuki. The rat sighed softly, understanding his task, and nodded. But their glance hadn't gone unnoticed by Kyo and he glared at them. "What do you think you're doing stupid dog?"  
  
"It's obvious that you have to go after Akito, but you're not going alone Kyon-Kyon."  
  
Kyo glared at him. "I'm not taking that kuso nezumi with me! No way!"  
  
Kyo yelled fiercely, then had an odd sensation. He was growing. The cat felt his fingers lengthen into claws, his eyes becoming large, infested with an unnatural blue. The transforming cat, shot out of his chair, barreling for the door on his strong four legs, then disappearing into the stormy woods.  
  
Shigure sighed; looking down at the place the cat had sat only moments before. It's always the same... He looked over at Yuki who nodded, running after the cat. Shigure watched him go, the usual happy light in his eyes replaced with concern.  
  
But... I still hope that he'll be okay. Akito won't be happy though... to have it taken away again...  
  
---{}---  
  
Yuki panted for air. He'd been chasing the cat for almost fifteen minutes at this insane speed. Kyo was FAST in this form and he could only just keep him in sight, and even that was taking a lot out of the rat. Suddenly, the cat froze, Yuki skidding to a halt behind him, seeing the monster pause. Kyo sniffed the air tentatively, the long nose separating smells experimentally. Yuki couldn't help but let out a soft breath of exhaustion while the cat was distracted.  
  
Instantly one of the monster's ocean blue eyes turned to stare at him, pinpointing him like a deer in a hunter's sights. Yuki stiffened, realizing that the cat was watching him. The blue eye turned angry and the cat turned fully, growling at him.  
  
---{}---  
  
"You stupid rat! GET AWAY! I DON'T WANT YOU HERE!" Kyo yelled, his limbs tight with rage. This only came out as fevered growls from the monster and Kyo realized he wasn't getting his point across.  
  
He ran at Yuki. That at least would get the rat to leave.  
  
---{}---  
  
Kyo was charging at him, the long legs eating up the distance between them like a dragon. His growls had turned into roars, the blue eyes going dark. Yuki took a step back but running was useless. The cat would catch him in an instant and Yuki preferred to face the neko, not have his back ripped into as he ran.  
  
The rat tightened and waited for death to plow into him.  
  
He didn't expect to be tackled and pulled out of the way of Kyo's warpath, then shoved to keep him running.  
  
"Keep going!" His 'rescuer' yelled, darting quickly ahead of him, the sound of Kyo's enraged roars following them and soon, the sound of angry paws tearing up the ground. Yuki sped up, running beside the kimono-clad figure. His eyes widened in shock as he caught a glance of the other's face.  
  
"A-Akito?" He asked in disbelief. The older teen looked over at him, his eyes telling him that now was not the time.  
  
"_Later _nezumi."  
  
"H-hai." Yuki stuttered then felt Akito grip his arm and stiffened. But the Sohma head tugged him off the 'path' they had been running and leapt, apparently, at a tree. Yuki winced, waiting for the impact, then felt himself fall down into the center of the tree, a hollowed-out space, large enough for two teens. The monster outside pounded past yowling, searching for the one who had stolen his bracelet and had just taken Yuki.  
  
Once Kyo was out of hearing range, even for his delicate cat ears, Yuki looked over at Akito. "A-ano... Akito-san...?"  
  
The older teen nodded, motioning at the bracelet on his wrist, which had been formerly hidden by his kimono. "You know that I hate the cat. Did anyone tell you why?"  
  
Yuki shook his head. "You said... that he messed everything up in the Zodiac. That he shouldn't be here."  
  
"Hai, I did. But there's... another reason." Akito stared at the bracelet, his dark eyes regretful. "The cat and the Sohma head are always linked, which is why the cat is always hated. We both have true forms that are only controlled by this bracelet."  
  
Yuki's eyes went wide in surprise. "D-demo... you're not..."  
  
"I'm not a monster because this isn't my true form. How I am usually, how I am always, that is my true form."  
  
Akito looked up at his cousin sadly. "I hate the cat because he always has the bracelet. He thinks his true form is horrible and evil when he doesn't have to live it! He's not always the way he is now, ridiculously strong and angry. But he... he can be happy so much of the time, he can show other emotions and be himself. But my true form is so weak, and all there ever is consists of anger and resentment. The most anyone has ever been able to do is perplex me, as Honda Tohru did when she spoke to me. I hate and am hated. There is nothing else."  
  
He leaned back against the wall of the tree, not looking at Yuki.  
  
"That is why I took the bracelet. I can't use any real strength in my true form because I'm so ill. Only... occasionally." He shivered, as if the memory hurt him, remembering what he did to Hatori and to Yuki himself.  
  
"I'm sorry Yuki."  
  
The rat just sat unmoving and Akito did not speak again, his eyes closing as if sleeping.  
  
There was a noise at the opening and before Akito could even move, a clawed brown limb grasped his leg, dragging him towards the opening, accompanied by Kyo's angry growling.  
  
Akito cursed and fought back, nearly managing to slip out of the grip by holding onto a root but his hands slipped and he was pulled out of the hole with alarming speed. Yuki leapt out after him, just in time to see the cat- like monster flip the Sohma head over and pin him down, yowling angrily.  
  
Kyo's eyes flashed, glaring down at the struggling and surprisingly strong Sohma head. He hissed, his long ears pinning back.  
  
/I'd kill you. I swear I would if they wouldn't kill me later. You took away my SANITY you.../ Kyo couldn't even think of an insult for the other Sohma and merely roared louder, his blue eyes ice daggers.  
  
"Kyo—" Another of Kyo's roars cut off Akito's explanation "Kyo... you don't understand—".  
  
/I don't care!!! I want this BACK!/ He snarled and took off one of the hands restraining Akito, slipping the bracelet off the older teen's wrist easily, sliding it with difficulty back over his own 'hand'. He felt his body shrink and return to it's regular form, his usual cargo pants not so tight around his torso anymore. He looked down at the struggling Akito and glared.  
  
"What did you think you were DOING?!!!"  
  
"Akito..." Yuki asked, speaking softly. Kyo turned to glare at him now and Yuki ignored him, staring at Akito.  
  
"Do they, the others, do they know?"  
  
Akito greeted the question with a superior yet bitter smirk.  
  
"Of course my nezumi."  
  
---{}---  
  
"Oh Yuki and... Kyo? You must have found him then..." Shigure mused as the three entered, Akito sullenly silent, Yuki's gaze contemplative and Kyo was glaring at anything that showed any signs of moving.  
  
Yep, everybody was being normal.  
  
"Shigure. I need to talk to you." Yuki said, his amythest eyes flashing up and Shigure could see that something was bothering him. As in, this-needs- to-be-made-RIGHT-bothering him.  
  
He's learned about Akito... Was the first thing that popped into Shigure's mind and, seeing as how the night was going, er, excuse him, the very early MORNING was going, he'd probably be right.  
  
Yuki dragged him into the kitchen and shut the door, not turning for a few moments after he did shut it.  
  
"Ano mousie...?"  
  
"Is it true?" Yuki asked suddenly, turning to face the dog behind him. "Does Akito have a true form that the bracelet can prevent?"  
  
"Eeto..." Shigure said, sweatdropping. "Technically... yes..."  
  
"And he lives with it every day. He has to DIE for this family, he has to bear this burden, and he has to do this in... in that form? Knowing that his relief is just on the baka neko's wrist?" Yuki said, forcing himself to keep his voice low so others in the house wouldn't know what they were talking about.  
  
"It's the way it's always been Yuki." Shigure said softly, realizing that this was upsetting the rat... a lot. The dog's humor at this shattering point would NOT be appreciated.  
  
"But... he has so much against him... why can't he just be..." Yuki whispered.  
  
"Why doesn't Akito ever get to be happy?" He glared up at the Dog. "Don't you dare say "because that's the curse". I'm so sick of that cure-all phrase I'm about to scream!"  
  
"Yuki..." Shigure shook his head. "I can't tell you... he never attempts to take the bracelet from Kyo except for this time and once before... when he first found out that he had to die for the Sohmas. He was so angry... he said he would fight us all off, that he wouldn't die for the Sohmas! "Never, never!" He kept repeating, crying the whole time."  
  
Shigure hung his head. "But it was taken from him. He never had a choice."  
  
_"That is the Sohma curse."_  
  
---{}---  
  
awww... I ended it angsty. Sorry people. oh well... if you like it, let me know! I'll probably update fairly quickly since I'm bursting with ideas for this fic. (There'll probably be a memory of that incident in the next chapter from Akito)  
  
--But please review! Make the authoress happy, please please? 


	4. Flashback

---{}---  
  
Disclaimer: Fruits basket isn't mine!  
  
/pokes Kyo/ You were a) supposed to be one of the main characters and b) You were supposed to have an OUNCE of sense!! /sigh/ baka me or baka Kyo... don't know...  
  
oh yes, I probably have the age difference between Akito and Hatori wrong. Sorry bout that. Also, Kyo probably didn't live in the main house (ever) but I'm changing that because to have Akito run to Shii's would take a real stretch of the imagination....  
  
---{}---  
  
"Hey Akit--" Kyo walked up to the door of the Sohma head's temporary room (which was usually Tohru's), then glanced in and saw him sleeping. He sighed, thinking for a moment. /I still want to know what's up with him taking my bracelet... but if I wake him up now that dog'll probably kill me./ He shrugged, turned and walked away, not entering the room.  
  
But even the presence of the bracelet on his wrist once again couldn't calm his confusion.  
  
---{}---  
  
_---Flashback---  
  
"Akito," His mother smiled calmly. "Come here honey."  
  
{Honey...? She never calls me that...} But obediently, the seven-year-old Akito walked over, sitting down beside his mother quietly. The fourteen- year-old Hatori was there as well, his eyebrows knitted together in a frown. Akito wondered why he looked so upset. Had he done something wrong?  
  
"Akito, you know how your cousin Yuki turns into a rat?" His mother asked. Akito nodded. He'd seen this phenomenon once before when Yuki had had a really bad fever. The silver-haired boy had gotten so weak that he'd transformed in front of Akito's eyes. The Sohma immediately called for the doctor, yelling about how Yuki'd been eaten by a giant rat.  
  
"Well," His mother continued, interrupting Akito from his thoughts. "There's a curse on the Sohma family, and twelve of you turn into animals when you're hugged by women or in the girls' case, men."  
  
"Do I?" Suddenly this topic was interesting.  
  
"...no. And we need to talk about that."  
  
"Am I supposed to?"  
  
"No. Akito listen, to get rid of this curse someone has to die."  
  
"Die? Why does someone have to die?" Akito was perplexed. How could anyone dying help? It would just hurt everyone wouldn't it? Why would you want to be rid of this anyway? It was cool.  
  
"Because." His mother said lamely. "And the task is very special. It's a great honor. And... it's yours."  
  
Akito was silent for a moment while his mother shifted nervously.  
  
"I'm... I'm going to die?" He whispered. His mother panicked slightly.  
  
"For the Sohmas. It's special Akito."  
  
"B-but," Akito was starting to really understand. "Yuki... and Haru and Kyo and Shigure... none of them have to die? Just me?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"Why? Why do I have to die? Why don't they? I'm going to be alone!"  
  
"Now Akito, just calm down. This family is yours. You won't be alone." His mother buffered. Akito shook his head. "No... no no no! I'm going to die and be alone... no one's going to... No! I won't do it! I won't die for the Sohmas!" He stumbled away from her, shaking his head wildly. He opened the door, hurrying out into the hall. He planned to run away but knew his legs wouldn't take him.  
  
Kyo's bracelet!  
  
The younger boy had let him try it on the day before. While he wore it, Akito could run really really fast. He remembered the feeling of wind and his younger cousin being unable to catch him with his long legs. He went to go find Kyo's room. When he entered, the orange-headed boy was playing with Yuki. He smiled at his favorite cousin then asked Kyo for his bracelet. The cat shrugged, shaking his head.  
  
"Mom says I can't."  
  
"Why not? It's only for a minute! I'll give it right back!"  
  
"My mom'll get mad!"  
  
"As Sohma head, I demand you give it to me!" Akito yelled, feeling vibrations run through the floor as his mother ran towards Kyo's room. He'd have to hurry. Yuki's eyes had widened with Akito's proclaimation.  
  
"W-what?" Kyo tossed him the bracelet, at the same time asking "Sohma... head?"  
  
Akito didn't respond, slipping on the bracelet and running out of the room, heading out of the compound. His mother skidded to a halt in front of Kyo's room, looked inside, cursed and ran on after the seven-year-old. Yuki and Kyo were REALLY confused by this time and ran after her to the car, which she raced to.  
  
Akito made it almost a mile from the Sohma House when his pursuers caught up. Hatori and Shigure had joined in the chase, Shigure not entirely knowing what was going on but paying close attention. Yuki and Kyo had been left behind in Haru's care. Akito's mother careened in front of the black- haired boy, forcing him to skid to a halt.  
  
"I won't!" He yelled, backing away from her. "I won't, I won't, I won't!!!" Akito yelled. Hatori got out of the car, still looking sad. Now Akito knew why. It was for him. He was pitied. {But... I don't want that...}  
  
Shigure looked over at Hatori. "Now... what exactly are we doing?" A sweatdrop grew on the back of Hatori's head and he didn't respond. Shigure sulked slightly.  
  
"Akito, you come here right now." His mother said sternly. He shook his head. "I'm not going back there!"  
  
"Don't be an idiot." She stalked over, the seven-year-old backing up until he pressed himself against a tree. "I'm not going." He said warningly and she gripped his arm.  
  
"Hatori, please come over here." The black-haired boy came over and she motioned at the struggling Akito with her free hand. "Make him forget."  
  
Hatori blinked. "Excuse me?"  
  
"You heard me. He can't remember this. It'll drive him mad and he won't cooperate."  
  
"It's not that simple." Hatori shook his head. "You don't understand, he won't forget forever. It'll stay behind and hurt him. I can't do that."__  
  
"Fine. Be stubborn. At least get that bracelet off him. I can't hold this monster that much longer." Akito struggled against her, biting at Hatori as he felt the bracelet be removed from his arm. He slumped, unable to struggle against his mother's grip anymore, the freedom of his power leaving him.  
  
Tears filled his dark eyes and he wouldn't look at any of them.  
  
{I don't want to die...} Was his only thought as he got into the car and his mother, Shigure, and Hatori rode back to Sohma House in the deadliest of silences.  
  
---End Flashback---  
  
_---{}---  
  
Akito's eyes opened slowly and he stared up into the single eye of Hatori in, strangely enough, light. The power must have come back on while he was asleep.  
  
"Ha-Hatori?" He asked, sitting up slowly. The doctor frowned.  
  
"Yes. What are you doing here Akito? Why didn't you leave word or something?" The Ryu's voice sounded slightly strained and definitely tired. Akito shrugged, his eyes darkening.  
  
"I came to see Shigure. I didn't leave word because I didn't want to be bothered."  
  
Hatori sighed in exasperation, taking out his stethoscope. "Take a deep breath." Akito did so, cooperating with an air of annoyance. "What do you need to do all this for anyway?"  
  
"You running around with Kyo's bracelet. I need to make sure you didn't do any lasting damage."  
  
"Heh. I didn't get it for long enough to do any of _that._"  
  
Hatori didn't respond again and this annoyed Akito. {Why is it no one wants to talk to me? Oh, I forgot. I'm not the nicest of people. Yes. Fear the Sohma head and run for your life because Akito is annoyed again.}  
  
He sighed; his muscles tight as he heard the bag click and Hatori replace his instruments.  
  
"Am I fit for absolutely nothing then?" He asked sarcastically. Hatori was silent, his eyes dark. Getting the bracelet, even only a taste of the power it held, was like a drug. It made Akito pained and sarcastic again, reminding him of what he did not have.  
  
Though why Akito let the cat keep the bracelet was still a mystery to him.  
  
---{}---  
  
"Hey Yuki." Haru commented, sneaking up behind his older cousin. The silver-haired rat jumped.  
  
"Haru!" He started breathing again, looking back at the cow. "When did you get here?"  
  
"Just now. Akito left and Hari and me came to find him. You okay?"  
  
"I'm fine." Yuki looked over at the sleeping Kyo on the couch. "It's more the baka neko whose had a time of it. Akito took his bracelet."  
  
"Hn." Haru answered. "Cat got it back I assume?"  
  
"Hai..." Yuki looked a little saddened, his amythest eyes darkening. "Part of me wishes he hadn't though..."  
  
"Akito'll get over it. He always does." Hatsuharu reassured, shrugging.  
  
"But... why doesn't he try to take it any other times?"  
  
"He respects Kyo. I don't know why, but something Kyo did was enough to earn Akito's trust and respect and he never tries to take the bracelet from Kyo. Except for once when he was little and this time right now."  
  
"But what did Kyo do?" Yuki asked, looking over at the cow in confusion. Haru shrugged.  
  
"That I don't think anyone knows but Akito and Kyo."  
  
---{}---  
  
kinda short chapter on this one. I usually try to go for at least 6 pages but.... I want to leave you readers on a cliffie so you shall all review and make me happy. /beams/ Review? Please please?


	5. Frustration

------

Disclaimer: uhhh, no. Not mine.

I won't bother saying anything... that was a seriously long period of no update. Sorry bout that, and thank you for being patient.

(divider)

"Hey. Akito."

A cocky voice came from the doorway and the older teen looked up irritably.

"Oh. It's only the CAT. What do you want?"

"Why did you take my bracelet?" Kyo accused, deciding to cut straight to the chase of his speech. Akito smirked, a tight, thin-lipped smile that he seemed to give to anyone who asked him a 'stupid' question.

"Why shouldn't I, cat? It's not like it belongs to anyone important and I can take what I want. I'm the head of the Sohma family." Akito said smoothly, not looking at the orange-haired teen, studying his fingertips instead, as if they were infinitely more interesting.

Kyo growled deep in his throat, glaring at the older boy.

"Can't you give a straight answer to the question? Or maybe you just don't like the answer you HAVE--"

Akito's eyes immediately snapped to Kyo, anger flaming in their blue/green orbs.

"You forget your place." He hissed.

"No, I'm right here, insulting you for being such a coward." Kyo retorted, smirking.

"Kyo-kun? Kyo-kun, are you up there?"

A feminine voice called up the stairs. Kyo glanced out the doorway and his eyes widened.

"T-Tohru!"

"Hi Kyo-kun! I hope it's not a problem that I'm back early... and Shigure-san said we had guests over...?" The girl said in a rush, failing to look inside her room and see Akito.

But she would eventually... Kyo thought dismelly, not noticing as someone came up behind him.

"Myself and Akito are borrowing Shigure's house for a short time Miss Honda." Hatori said, his voice cool and unimposing. The girl beamed.

"Oh, you're here Hatori-san? And... Akito-san?" Her sentance trailed off as she looked inside the room, seeing the teen. She waved slightly, eliciting a 'hmph' from Akito.

Tohru turned back to Kyo, blissfully oblivious to the 'conversation' that had been going on between he and Akito.

"Well, I better go make lunch!" She said genkily, starting downstairs. Hatori followed her, his height overshadowing the girl vampire-like.

"I'll help." He said by way of explaination and they were gone.

But Tohru's presence had given Kyo an evil idea.

He glanced inside the room, taking one last look at the still-sulking Akito.

/Heh. This'll fix him.../ He thought, smirking.

/Half an hour in the same room as Tohru can make almost anyone spil their guts./

He walked downstairs, his cat-like brain already thinking up a devious plan.

(divider)

"Hey... Tohru."

Kyo leaned against the kitchen doorway, staying at the doorframe opposite him intently.

Lying to Tohru to her face just didn't... feel right.

"Akito wants ta see you." He said, feigning boredness. Of course, the brunette's reaction was anything but calm.

"Ohmygoodness Akito wants to see me?! What do I say, is he angry? Is he hungry? Ohhhh, I knew I should've made him food faster! Akito-san will beso annoy--!" Her frantic running around the kitchen was halted abruptly by Kyo's grabbing her wrists.

"Look, you're fine. He just needs you. So go. I CAN cook you know. Just quit PANICKING."

She stared up at him with such trust... Kyo felt waves of guilt at what he was going to do.

/I swear Akito, if you lay one hand on her, I'm going to kill you./

He motioned at the stairs.

"You should go."

Tohru jumped, having been distracted by his grip on her wrists.

"Oh! I should! He'll be waiting." She said, starting up the stairs. Kyo followed, a fair distance behind.

But then, a screwdriver was thrown into his plan.

The doorbell rang.

Just once, and Kyo assumes the nezumi had answered it.

It wasn't until he heard a familiar voice from behind him that he realized no one had answered the door, and of course, this person had let himself in.

"Well, I must say this is quite a greeting. Here _I_ am, having closed my shop for the day, DYING for some time with my brother and there's no one but Kyonkichi sneaking around like a kitty!"

Kyo's cat ears flattened.

"Shut up Ayame!" He went up after Tohru, leaving the snake standing in the hallway.

"Well I never..." Ayame huffed, then bounced after Kyo, not about to be left out of whatever it was the cat was doing.

He was not, shall we say, pleased to find out he was only locking a door.

"Ohhhh Kyooooo, can't you think of anything else to do?! I'M BORED! Where is my brother?" Ayame demanded in a rush, going from whiny two-year-old to persistant older brother in 2.3 seconds, a personal best.

Kyo sweatdropped, glaring back at him.

"I'm trying to listen!" He hissed quietly, pressing his cat ear to the door.

(divider)

"What are _you_, doing in here Honda-kun?" Akito asked, venom heavy in his voice. Tohru fidgeted nervously.

"U-u-um, Kyo-kun said you wanted to see me..." Her fingers played with the hem of her shirt. She never knew quite what it was that scared her so much about Akito, but SOMETHING did.

"I said no such thing." Akito said with disinterest.

Tohru's blue eyes widened immediately.

"G-gomen nasai! I-I'll go then!"

She practically ran over to the door, trying to open it and found it locked. Several shades of red, then white, passed over her face as she turned back to Akito, who was still sitting on the bed coolly, watching her in annoyance.

"Well?" He snapped. "Why aren't you out of my sight yet?"

"The- the door's locked..." She said hesitantly, trying it again as if it might open this time. Akito's face changed, radiating anger.

"IT'S WHAT?!!" He roared, then went to it, moving faster then Tohru had eer seen him move and wrenching the doorknob.

It stayed on and Akito's eyes get, if at all possible, darker.

"That stupid ca--" He broke into a coughing fit from his sudden exersion, sinking to the floor.

"---That stupid cat..." He managed after finishing, his breath coming in long, jagged streams.

Tohru just stood, looking at the Sohma in concern. Akito finally looked up at her, anger still smoldering in his eyes but he knew it was useless.

That stupid, cursed, incompetant cat wanted him to talk to Tohru.

Explain his feelings to her.

Let her be close to him.

Akito looked away from her, hating him.

Kyo was an idiot.

But... he could always have Hatori erase her memories of this incident.

Heh.

Stupid cat hadn't thought of that.

He looked up at Tohru again, smirking faintly at the increasingly confused girl.

"Honda-san...

"Once you said you really wanted to know me, well...

"Here's your chance."

(divider)

Okay! Next chapter will probably be the last. Sorry that was only four pages long...

Again thank you for your patience with this chapter and please review it!


	6. Answers

Disclaimer: Blah. You know.

I'm sorry. But you didn't come for the apology, you came for the chapter.

Note on the flashback: I am aware I made major mistakes in the canon, ages, what people do and don't know, and personality. Please don't comment on them, because my "fixing" them probably will just make them worse.

Please do not curse at me in your reviews, as, while it does get chapters, my ego goes down the tubes like you have no idea. I don't swear in my fics; please show me the same courtesy in your reviews. Thanks.

(divider)

Tohru didn't get it at first. That much was obvious by the airheaded stare she gave him.

"Ah... what" She tried hesitantly, blinking in confusion. Akito glared at her, and then shook his head.

"Never mind. I wouldn't expect a stupid girl like you to understand something like my mind. Or be able to come up with a solution. What IS it that makes all the Sohmas "love" you? You're a foolish, insipid girl who can't possibly understand this family." He ranted in a low undertone. The girl just stood there, looking at him in confusion.

"...what" She tried again but Akito wasn't listening, choosing to ignore the girl's question.

"That stupid cat thinks I'll tell everything to you, just like my rat and he do, just like that rabbit does, and Ayame. How can you be so loved by a family that has no purpose to love? They think you can fix everything don't they? Like some kind of magician, you're going to swoop down with your bright smile that Shigure tells me about, and the understanding eyes that Momiji raves about. How can they love YOU, of all people"

"Akito-san, you're not making sen"

"HOW"

"I don't know..." She replied quietly, staring at the floor as if it was terribly interesting.

"I thought so." Akito said mockingly, sitting on the bed, covering up smoothly his lack of control as if it had been planned. He looked over at the window casually, pretending this conversation wasn't important, a simple chat about the weather instead of the probing command rising in him.

"Ask me something Tohru Honda. Something you've always wanted to know. I won't yell." He said coolly, looking down at his long nails. He'd never noticed how small his hands were... how weak. Bony and skeletal, the hands of death. Why was he noticing this now! He panicked, placing the hand back on the bed, as if there it wasn't a part of him.

"Er..." Tohru was still trying to comprehend what he was asking her but she finally ended up asking,

"Why are you so bitter" She stepped back immediately after asking, as if she was afraid he would yell or try to strike her, despite his promise. Akito turned his attention to her icily.

"I am bitter because I am hated, and hate. I was chosen at birth to be the Sohma head and I have one purpose; to die. Wouldn't you be bitter, Honda-san" His voice was calm, easy, as he turned to look at her, waiting for her response. The brunette hesitated, and then spoke softly, not lifting her eyes to look into his.

"Wouldn't it be better to live happily with the time you have, instead of being bitter? You, or I, could die at any second Akito-san, we're not promised any time. I could die right now, and you could live to be 80. Nothing is certain."

The older teen was silent, then looked away proudly. "Ask me something else." He commanded, not letting her answer ruffle him. Tohru paused, but the question was quicker in coming this time.

"Why do you hate Kyo-kun"

"The Cat." Akito corrected automatically. Tohru shook her head stubbornly, though inwardly wondering if Akito would get mad that she corrected him.

"No, just Kyo-kun."

"Why do I hate... _Kyo._" He repeated, spitting out the last word like a bitter taste in his mouth.

"He is the Cat. Of course I hate him. He has freedom from this suffocating family and he wastes it by chasing the rat uselessly. And his hideous other form, who couldn't hate him? He is cocky, arrogant, a fool. But the Cat is always a fool, so _that _at least is understandable."

"But, Kyo-kun is still human"

"Less human than all the other Sohmas. If he didn't wear that _bracelet_, he wouldn't be human at all"

"Then why do you let him keep the bracelet if you hate him so much Akito-san..."

"The other Sohmas don't desire to see that THING running around."

"But"

"Ask me another question." Akito said, brushing aside all other comments she may have had. He couldn't, WOULDN'T, lose his calm. Not in front of her, becoming like the rest of the Sohmas; putty in her hands.

"Why did you hurt Hatori-sensei" She asked and the Sohma head stared at her, nerves jumping with the sudden change of subject. He hadn't anticipated...

"Hatori" He questioned, more to buy himself time then any real confusion.

"Why did you keep him and Kana from getting married" The girl inquired, stepping forward slightly, moving towards the bed where Akito sat, now tensed.

"I- he would have endangered the Sohmas. He HAD, by telling her the secret. She had to forget."

"But why couldn't she have known? She loved him. She would have been all right as long as she had Hatori-sensei."

"She went insane. She obviously couldn't handle knowing." Akito said self-assuredly but the Honda girl pressed on, battering at his defenses.

"She only began to feel guilty after Hatori was hurt..." She said quietly.

"Ask me another question." Akito said, trying to divert her attention. The brunette stiffened, realizing the obvious change of topic.

"What is the point in this Akito-san"

_/An easy one./_ Akito mused, smirking faintly. There wasn't any danger.

"To tell you what you want to know of course, my dear Honda-san."

"But every time the conversation goes in a direction you don't want, you can change it, demand another question"

"Who are YOU Tohru Honda, to question my way of doing this" Akito responded, furious and quietly seething.

"I'm no one, just Tohru Honda." She said quietly, fingers playing with the edge of her shirt as her blue eyes lifted to stare at the Sohma head.

"Ask." He said stubbornly, rushing past the uncommon silence.

"Why do you allow Kyo-kun to keep his bracelet"

"I have my reasons."

"What reasons Akito-san"

"Ask another question"

"No! This is my question, so stop running away" The girl exploded then her eyes widened and she froze, panicked.

"G-gomen nasai! I apologize for my rudeness Akito-san." _/Oh mom, what have I done?_/ She stared down at her feet, a dark blush parading across her cheeks. She was unable to look at the older teen, who sat silent, eyes closed.

Finally, his silence broke.

"I..."

His word seemed to hover in the air, shot, before coming to rest in the stream of its fellows.

"I allow the Cat to keep his bracelet because it saves him. And he once saved me..."

Akito kept his eyes closed, remembering, trying to put the sight of Tohru in his mind's eye away, replaced with one of a pond...

"It... it was a deep pond..."

flashback

_It **was** a deep pond. The koi inside it had long died, the remaining ones taken out by Akito's mother, saying her son only loved the birds, light, flying, FREE. She wouldn't allow any son of HERS to emulate the captive fish. No, the birds were his animal, fish would not be tolerated._

_How ironic that the pond was to be his death._

_Akito hadn't planned it out, never paused to consider the option. But as he stood on the side of the pond, balancing on one of the rocks, he stared at his reflection._

_"Why do I have to wait for death? They'll all abandon me now, they won't wait for me to die. Who would make friends with a walking ghost"_

_That was a game he played sometimes"walking ghost". He'd wander through the Sohma house, 'haunting', and everyone would get out of his way, keep out of the same room. And like a ghost, he could feel this was a training exercise to become numb. To not need people._

_He stared down at his reflection again, black hair brushing low over his shoulders. His mother had told him to cut it... but he hadn't. A disobedience, one he would be spanked for._

_/I don't want to get spanked.../ Akito mused, then another thought reoccurred. /I don't want to die for the Sohmas./ He looked down at the pool, and promptly jumped in, the water making hardly a ripple as he went straight to the bottom. _

_/I'm light-weight... the fish are more free then birds. They have the darkness, the black, the... I'm choking/ The Sohma's eyes widened and he struggled. _

_/Choking, air! Mommy! Tori, Ayame, DADDY/_

_A hand gripped his collar suddenly, yanking him upwards, towards light. Akito instinctively inhaled and got a mouthful of water, sputtering and panicking._

_"Calm down" A voice yelled at him and the Sohma did his best to comply, going very still. His rescuer's hair was orange, he noticed as the other boy dragged him back to the pond's bank. He was younger, significantly younger, but he knew how to swim. Akito stared at him._

_"You're strong." He commented once they were safe on shore and he had regained his breath. The other stared at him, then smirked faintly, confused but proud._

_"I learned from my sensei. Why'd you jump into the pond"_

_"I don't know... I wanted to."_

_"Okay... well, I'm Kyo."_

_"A-Akito... are you the Cat"_

_"Yeah, everyone calls me that. Will you call me Kyo" The orange-haired boy looked hopeful, but Akito's mother's warnings where already playing in the black-haired Sohma's head._

_"My mother says, that I shouldn't call the Cat anything but the Cat. She says I have to. I'm... I'm sorry."_

_"It's all right..." The other boy said quietly, hiding his disappointment. "Everyone just judges me because I have to wear this bracelet. Everyone... hates me..."_

_"I don't! And your... sensei doesn't! And your mother can't possibly hate you." Akito knew this first-hand, his own mother always telling him everything that she did was out of love for him. _

_"But... she's scared of me. She lies and says she's not, but she is." Kyo said sadly, staring down at his bracelet._

_Akito blinked. "She's scared of you? Why" He couldn't imagine his own mother fearing him, her black eyes wide in terror, long spidery hands twitching in fear. It just wasn't possible to fear your own child!_

_"I... I change into something when this bracelet goes away." Kyo held up his arm where the bracelet clinked together, white and black beads circling his wrist widely. "Everyone hates me because of it..." He said softly, unhappily._

_"Then I'll always let you keep that bracelet" Akito said suddenly, smiling at the thought that he could do something to help his rescuer. "No matter what, you saved me so I'll save you. None of the Sohmas can take it from you"_

_"But, how'll you make them not take it? You're just a kid like me..."_

_"I'll find a way" The older boy said stubbornly. Kyo smiled faintly, caught between bemusement at his immature elder, and thankfulness for the pledge._

_"Thanks then, Akito-san."_

_"Akito? Akito, are you out here" A voice called and Akito turned, seeing his mother coming and realizing he was soaking wet. _

_"My mother's here... I have to go." He said, standing. The Cat, no, KYO, he had resolved that he would call the cat Kyo if only in his head, smiled and stood as well, heading off in the other direction._

_"See you then, Akito-san." Kyo said, waving a little as he left._

_Akito's mother came up behind him, staring after the orange-haired boy._

_"Was that the Cat Akito" She asked, words dripping with venom. Akito looked up at her innocently._

_"Hai, that was Kyo."_

_"The **CAT**." She corrected, staring at her son icily. He shivered under her glare and nodded._

_"Hai, the... Cat."_

_"I don't want you near him. I won't have my son tainted by the infection of the Cat's curse. You are **special** Akito, you don't need something like him." She accented the word 'thing' so there could be no mistaking that she thought of the cat as 'it', not 'him'._

_"O...kay..." Akito replied sadly. _

_end flashback_

"A-Akito-san..." Tohru started after he finished but the Sohma head interrupted.

"That is the only reason I allow him to keep it, my dear Honda-san. It was a promise, and I keep my promises, even if I do stretch the boundaries. Even though the Cat is nothing but a fool, I allow him to keep that bracelet."

(divider)

Kyo blinked, having heard all of the conversation and shocked. He opened the door, key clinking loudly in the lock, and threw it open, staring at Akito.

"You..."

The Sohma head looked at him coolly, as if he had been waiting for him.

"Does that answer _your _question Cat"

"You..." Kyo stared, eyes flaming. "You're a moron."

"Such gratitude was expected. Are you done with interrogating me by means of Honda-san now? I expected no more from you Cat, you always were underhanded and sneaky."

"You're mixing me up with your precious rat Akito. And you opened yourself up, I didn't do anything" Kyo said, smirking but frustrated. Akito stood slowly.

"I don't have to explain anything more to you then."

"What! Explain why you took my bracelet"

"Ask the dear rat Kyonkichi." Akito said, smirking and left the room, leaving Tohru and Kyo standing in its center, Tohru staring at Kyo and Kyo staring after Akito.

"What the..."

"He called you... Kyonkichi" Tohru said in confusion and the cat's eyes narrowed.

"He's... DEAD" He yelled angrily, veins beginning to pulse on his head; zooming down the stairs with unnatural speed, Tohru running after him at a slightly more sedate pace. Unfortunately for Kyo, at unnatural speeds, certain important details are missed and so Kyo missed the fact that Yuki was on the stairs until he had plowed right into the unsuspecting rat.

"GAHHH"

"STUPID CAT"

-THUNK-

"Oww..." The now-feline Kyo groaned, rolling over.

"Get OFF me" A squeak came from beneath him and Kyo blinked, shifting to see the rat scamper away from underneath him. "Stupid cat..."

The canine Shigure looked over at Tohru in concern, to where she was sitting with eyes going round in circles. "Are you all right my desert flower" He asked eloquently and the girl nodded.

"Haiiii... is Shigure-sensei all right? I think I landed on you..."

"That was kind of the point." The dog said, beaming as he remembered the instant genius of his plan while watching the crisis unfold. Tohru had, as soon as she saw Kyo run into Yuki, leapt forward to keep them both from falling, which would have worked- except for the fact that them both changing into animals overbalanced her, falling forward. Shigure, being the genius he was, ran over and caught all three... promptly changing into a dog himself.

Akito stared at the pile of animals and girl at the foot of the stairway, not having left quite yet.

"Yes, they would definitely be too much of a danger to keep around the Main House." He mused to himself, then went into the kitchen to inform Hatori that they were leaving.

Kyo growled, poofing back into his regular self and quickly dressing, Tohru staring avidly at a corner.

"I'm still going to kill him." The Cat muttered angrily, but by the time he was dressed again, Akito was about to leave, Hatori at his side. The Sohma head looked over at the already-changed and dressed Shigure.

"You will come by the house again, won't you Shii." He asked, but somehow it wasn't so much of a question as a certainty. Shigure smiled enigmatically.

"Of course Akito-san. Sayonara." He answered smoothly, pushing up his novelist glasses casually. The black-haired Sohma looked at the pile, covering up a snicker with a cough.

"Good luck Shigure." He said, then turned, heading out to the car Hatori had parked in the front yard. Hatori looked over at Shigure and the novelist waved happily.

"Bye Ha'ri! I'll miss you ever so much"

"WAIT" Came a loud yell from up the stairs and a blur of white and red came streaming down the stairs, coming to a screeching halt in front of Hatori.

"No one told me Ha'ri was here" Ayame pouted, turning a mock glare on Shigure. The dog shrugged and Kyo sulked, glaring at Ayame.

"Maybe because they didn't want you doing your little scary thing..." 

"Oh Kyonkichi, how can you say such a needlessly cruel thing" Ayame cried, whacking him over the head none-too-gently with a fan that had magically appeared.

"Well, Ha'ri, shall we go" He said happily and the doctor turned mutely to go.

"Can I drive this time" Ayame continued excitedly, the dragon's only response being an audible " ". There was the slamming of car doors as the group got in, but then the sound of footsteps returning. Hatori poked his head back inside, looking at Shigure.

"Shigure."

"Hai" The writer asked curiously. Hatori hesitated, then said quietly.

"If you're going to visit Akito, do it soon."

Shigure stared at him, Kyo catching the quiet words as well but not commenting. Yuki and Tohru had already left to do other things.

"How long..." The dog asked softly and the doctor lifted his shoulders slightly, shaking his head.

"Maybe a week, maybe two. Only Kureno, Akito, you and I know so far."

"Thank you for telling me..." Shigure said quietly and the doctor nodded, returning to the world outside, shutting the door softly behind him.

(divider)

It was only four days, as it turned out. The deterioration was steady and fast until at the end of the fourth day, the Sohma head couldn't even speak. Hatori was the only one with him when he died.

Akito's funeral was largely attended, many crying or hugging others in consolation. A certain grey-haired boy held a brunette dressed all in black tightly, as if he'd wanted to do this for a long time. His face was streaked with tears, as was hers. An orange-haired boy stood at the tombstone, staring at what was engraved on it sadly.

**'Akito Sohma, 1983-2005. **

**A life lived for others.'**

He could feel rage churning inside him, and a stinging in his nose and eyes. Everything had been explained to him... by that kuso nezumi and the dog of all people. He choked on his tears, forcing them back in his eyes.

"Yeah. A life lived for others."

He stared down at the black and white beads imprisoning his wrist, slipping them off and holding them in his hand a moment before letting them slip, clinking among the white flowers around the tombstone.

The orange-haired boy lowered his head, saying a small prayer, then started walking away, as rain began to fall.

-The End -

(divider)

Major thanks go out to all of my reviewers and readers. Thank you so much!

I'm sorry for the death... so please don't yell at me. I hate killing Akito too.

Finished: 3:38pm 2/5/05


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